Cate Baierlein, President and Founder, is proud to have been recognized as a 2009 Business Woman of The Year Finalist and a 2009 Up and Comer by the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Introduction:
Beginner's Course: Cate was fortunate to graduate from high school with college credits. She wouldn’t have accomplished this if she had followed the advice of her guidance counselors. They recommended a less stringent academic track because of her request to be in classes with her friends. Her parents, on the other hand, advocated to keep her in advanced classes because they knew of her passion for helping people and her desire to pursue a psychology degree. Cate hit a turning point in the road when she graduated with her bachelor’s of science degree in psychology. While advising her, a trusted professor expressed his strong conviction that her graduate studies should focus on helping the "worried well" instead of people with more challenging needs. Cate listened to his advice closely, but chose the master’s degree that would allow her to make the greatest impact, vocational rehabilitation counseling. She never regretted this decision; the degree provided her specialized knowledge in removing employment barriers for people with disabilities and anyone else who wanted to rise above limiting circumstances.
In the January 2009 issue of Inc magazine, Norm Brodsky, author of "The Knack", indicated that he doesn’t necessarily want his clients to do what he says, he just wants to know that they are listening. Cate Baierlein, Founder and President for the Change Of Course companies, shares this sentiment. She guides her clients to trust their own judgments and “internal GPS” as much as, if not more than, her expert career advice. Throughout the course of her own career, she received guidance from various advisors, but in the end, she had to take responsibility for creating her own career path just as her clients do. Here is how she worked things out.
Choosing a Course:
